Made in Great Britain
Infiniti, the premium car brand of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd, has confirmed it will manufacture vehicles in Europe from Nissan’s award winning production base in Sunderland, UK.
The announcement represents a substantial investment of around £250mn into the facility and is expected to secure a further 1,000 jobs at Sunderland and across the UK.
Colin Dodge CBE, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd Executive Vice President and Chief Performance Officer, stated: “This milestone, our first premium product to be manufactured at Sunderland, reconfirms our commitment to UK manufacturing and the ongoing success of the plant, which is moving up the value chain.
“Just as important, the new Infiniti, which will be exported around the world, is being developed with help from our London design centre and our European Technical Centre at Cranfield.” Sunderland will be the only place in the world building Infiniti’s new premium compact car.
The all-new entry-level Infiniti is expected to start production from 2015 and will allow the company to compete within the heart of the premium segment for the first time, underlining the brand’s ambition to become a major worldwide competitor.
An additional 1,000 jobs across the UK are expected to be created by the new venture, including 280 new jobs at the Sunderland Plant. The plant has an annual capacity to produce 60,000 Infiniti models per year.
The announcement coincides with the news that this year, Nissan’s Sunderland Plant will produce more than half a million cars for the first time - the first UK manufacturer to achieve this milestone. During 2012, employment on site passed 6,000 for the first time and global exports from the plant now exceeds five million units. Due to capacity limitations at Sunderland, a C-segment hatchback previously announced for the plant in April will be manufactured elsewhere.
